Studies of diamond and diamond-like film surfaces using XAES, AFM and wetting

The paper reviews the results which have been obtained over the 5 recent years at the Institute for Superhard Materials of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in the field of investigation of surface properties of carbon films (diamond, diamond-like) by different experimental methods (XAES, XPS, AFM, RS-, ESR-, and IR-spectroscopies and wetting). The principal emphasis has been on the use of the wetting method (sessile drop). Variations of the surface characteristics (free surface energy, surface roughness, sp(2) and sp(3) hybridization of carbon atoms) of polycrystalline diamond films induced by ion bombardment, hydrogenation and oxidation have been investigated. By using the methods of thermodesorption and wettability, the mechanism of the a-C:H film destruction was suggested. The promising application of the wetting method for analysis of the carbon film surface properties is shown. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.